Photgraphic developing apparatus.



No. 823,623. PATENTED JUNE 19, 1906. A. W. MQGURDY.

PHOTOGRAPHIG DEVELOPING APPARATUS. APPLIGATION FILED APR. 20, 1904.

3 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

Witnesses. I Inventor.

Attorney- No. 823,623. PATENTED JUNE 19, 1906. A. W. MOGURDY.

PHOTOGRAPHI G DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- itnesses. Inventor.

%%W WWW-W Attorney PATENTED JUNE 19, 1906.

A. W. MOGURDY- PHOTOGRAPHIG DEVELOPING APPARATUS APPLIGATION FILED APR. 20,.1904.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

u W Wm W itnesseS.

Attorney UNIT D sTATEs ARTHUR WILLIAMS MOOURDY,

PORATION OF NEN YORK.

gENT OFFICE.

OF TORONTO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER,

NEW YORK, A (JOR- PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 19, 1906.

Application filed April 20, 1904. Serial No. 204,081.

Toall whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR WILLIAMS MOCURDY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in the city of Toronto, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Photographic Developing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference characters marked thereon.

y present invention relates to photographic developing-machines, and particularly to that class employed for developing photographic negatives or prints arranged upon strips or ribbons of flexible sensitized material and embodying generally a casing in which a spool or cartridge of sensitized material may be placed and the film or coating thereon developed and washed without exposure to the light.

My invention has for its object to provide a casing or receptacle comprising two chambers which are capable of being closed to exclude the light, one of which comprises a holding-compartment having a shaft or reel therein adapted to contain a flexible apron or support, previous to the developing operation, and the other forming a developingcompartment having an operating shaft or reel on which the apron or support may be wound from its supporting-shaft, together with the sensitized material, into said developing-chamber and moved continuously through the developing agents or solutions contained therein.

My invention has for its further object to provide a simple and effective holder that is capable of being adjusted to contain spools or cartridges of various sizes.

To these and other ends my invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawin s, Figure 1 is a side elevationof the deve oping-machine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 X of Fig. 1, showing the apron or support arranged in the operative position in the de- -in Figs. 3 and 4,

3, showing the parts of the casing in the open position and illustrating the apron in its holding-compartment. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3, 'showing the spool or cartridge holder. Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of one end of the apron or support. Fig. 7 is a longitudinally-sectional View of a developing-machine embodying a modification of my invention.

Similar reference characters in the several figures indicate similar parts.

A developing-machine constructed in accordance with my invention embodies a casing comprising two chambers A and B, constituting, respectively, a compartment in which the developing operations or treatment of the sensitized material is carried on and a compartment containing the apron or support which carries said material when it is not in use and in which it may be arranged to enable the operator to conveniently transferit to the developin -chamber.

In the drawings the chamber A is shown as formed by a casing, preferably constructed of sheet metal, the forward and rear ends thereof being indicated by 1 and 2, respectively, between which extend the sides 3, curved, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, to form a semicircular bottom which approximately conforms to the apron or support when the latter is wound upon the operatingshaft in the developing-chamber. The casing is held in an upright position by means of the feet or base portions 4. V The chamber B, formed by the end portions 11 and 12 and the wall 13, which may also be rounded, as shown forms a cover or closure for the casing, and forconvenience in operation the parts are hinged at one side, as'indicated at 5, and their meeting edges are formed to overlap by providing one of the parts with an outwardly-projecting tongue 6 and the other with a corresponding groove or depression 7, cooperating therewith, to exclude rays of light from the interior of the casing when the parts are closed in the normal position, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

The winding or operating shaft (indicated by 8) extends longitudinally of the developing-chamber A, and its inner end is journaled' to with [o a bar or member'18, extending longitudinally of the-shaft in proximity thereto and adapted particularly to form a securing device beneath which the end of a strip of sensitized material or the usual opaqueficovering thereon may be engaged. The hubs 16 are progvided with fingers or projections 19, adapted to C06 erate with en aging members 21, arrange atttheend of t e apron or support 25, as will be'more fully described hereinafter.

2'0 Hubs 26, similar to those just described and provided with fingers or projections 27, are rigidly secured to the supporting-shaft 20 and 'are ada ted to cooperate with engaging members or oops 28, arranged on the oppo- 2 5 site end of the apron or support and permitting the latter to be wound in'to thereceivingchamber, as shown in Fig. 4, and when drawn I therefrom and'unwound from the supportingshaft '20 to be automaticallydisengaged from 0 the shaft, thereby permitting the apron to be drawn into the developin -chamber and ro- I tated continuously therein for 'the desired length of time.

The. apron or support is constructed of 3 5 thin, flexible, and preferably transparent ma terial, such as celluloid, of a length somewhat greater than the standard lengths of film or sensitized material adapted to be treated in the ap aratus, and at its edges it is provided filling-pieces 29, secured by lines of stitching, and formed in the apron adjacent the filling-strips are apertures 30, adapted as the apron "is wound upon itself to permit the.

developing'agents or materials tofiow freely between the adjacent convolutions thereof.

At its ends the apron is looped over the crossbars 35 and 36, carrying theengaging devices or loops 21 and 28, and to accommodate these bars so that the apron will be Wound sym- 5o metrically around the shafts 8 and 20 the reel-hubs 16 and 26 are provided with notches, asshown, located in'rear of the fingers or pro ections.

An a paratus of this character is adapted particu arly for developing photographic neg;

atives oI prints made upon strips or ribbons of sensitlzed material wound upon spools and having a protecting envelop or cover of opaque paper and designated generally as 6;, .cartrid es, and as there are different widths of sensitized material, so that the cartridges vary in length, it is thedesideratum to dprov de a holder consisting of few parts an which may be easily adjusted to accommodate them. Extending outwardly from the ends of the apron -or support 25'.

one side of the casing and preferably con-. nected to the chamber Ais a recess which is adapted to receive the spools or cartridges. Arranged exteriorly of the recess and in proxiniity tothe top of the chamber is a rod or bar 37, constituting a frame on which is mounted a longitudinally-movable arm 38, having the depending end extendin into. the recess and provided with a pin 39, orming a journal for one end of a s 001 or cartridge. The arm is also formed with sion 41 and the ear or finger-piece 42, adapted to engage the sides of the chamber and the recess, as shown in Fig. 4,.to prevent the rotary mofement of the arm on the rod, although permitting it to be freely adjusted thereon, the fin eriece forming a projection by means of w 'c the arm may be easily manipulated. The ournal or support for the other end of the spool or cartridge is formed by a pin 43, arranged in axial alinement with the pin 39 and provided with the head 44,

ada ted to be held in frictional engagement witli the spool by means of a coil-spring 45, supported in a sleeve 50, and also provided wit an outer operating-head 51, whereby the pinmay be retracted when it is desired to remove the s 'ool from the holder. This arrangement of t e parts is simple and effective, for it will be'seen that to adjust the holder to receive a spool or cartridge of any desired size it is only necessary to shift the arm 38 longitudinally on the rod or bar 37, and as the pressure of the spring 45 exerted on the s 001 is sustained by the end of the adjustable arm and at a oint removed from the bar 37 the arm will e securely clamped by its frictional en agement therewith. i

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated a modification of the apparatus which also embodies my invention. In this form of this device the chambers A and'B are arranged side by side in a single casin 52, having the open top adapted to be closed by a cover 53. walls of thecasing are preferably curved, as shown, and the chambers are separated bya partition 54, the lower end of which is also curved to form a semicircular bottom for the developing-chamber A. The upper end of the partition is'terminated below the top of the casingto form a passage connecting the two chambers. The latter are provided with the shafts 8 and 20, respectively, having the hubs 16 and 26, provided with fingers adapted to cooperate with the engaging devices at The a foot or exten- The cartridge or spool holder is similar to the holder heretofore described and embodies the bar or frame 37, on which is mounted the adjustable arm 38.

To place the apparatus in condition to perform-a developing operation, the apron or apron in engagement with the projections or fingers 27 and revolving the shaft 20, as

shown in Fig. 4. The spool or cartridge may then be secured in the holder, as shown in Fig. 5, and the end of the covering or lightexcluding envelop attached to the winding or operating shaft 8 by slipping it beneath the bar 18. The shaft 8 may then be rotated to withdraw the extended end of the envelop or cover, and to this end the cover is preferably provided with the word Stop, which indicates to the operator that the contents remaining upon the spool are to be carried by the apron or support. The operator then attaches the engaging devices or loops 21 on the end of the apron to the fingers or projections 19 on the hubs attached to the shaft 8 and closes the developing-chamber by applying the cover portion. The continued rotation of the winding-shaft will then withdraw the apron 25 from the supporting-shaft 20, and the film or sensitized material will also be unwound from the cartridge and lie between the adjacent convolutions of the apron during the developing operation. The developing agent is preferably introduced into the developing-chamber A when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4, and the rotation of the operating or winding shaft is continued for the length of time required to complete the developing operation. When this is completed, the casin may be opened and the solution drained therefrom and the Washing and fixing solutions supplied to the chainber, after which the apron may be withdrawn and the sensitized material removed therefrom.

A developing-machine such as I have shown and described embodying the supporting and operating shafts arranged in different chambers and the apron or support which is detachably connected to them perinits the developing operation to be performed in a comparatively small chamber by a contmuous operation of one of the shafts. It will be seen, further, that by forming the developing-chamber with the semicircular bottom conforming approximately to the apron when coiled a comparativel small amount of developing agents are required and that the solution is continuously agitated and every part of it is caused to circulate into contact with the sensitized material.

I claim as my invention 1 1. In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with a casing, two shafts therein and an apron, of devices on the shafts adapted to detachably engage the ends of the apron whereby the latter may be unwound from either shaft and wound wholly upon the other, andmeans for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casing.

2. In a photographic developlng-machine, the combination with a casing, a receivingshaft and a winding-shaft therein and an apron, of detachable connections between said shafts and the ends of the apron operat-' ingwhen said shafts are revolved in opposite directions to wind said apron thereon, and means for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casing.

3. In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with a casing, and an apron having engaging members at the end thereof, of a winding-shaft, hubs thereon and projections extending outwardly therefrom and adapted to engage the members on the apron when the shaft is revolved in one direction, means for operating it and devices for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casing.

i. In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with a casing, a flexible apron having a loop at its end and a bar extending through the loop and having engaging members at its ends, of a winding-shaft, projections .thereon cooperating with said members, means for rotating the shaft and a device for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casin 5. In a photograp ic developing-machine, the combination with a casing, an apron, a winding-shaft and means for detachably connecting the apron to the shaft, of a device for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casing and a rod arranged parallel to the shaft beneath which the end of the material on the spool may be secured.

6. In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with a casing, an apron and a shaft having hubs thereon, of fingers on the latter adapted to engage the end of the apron, a rod extending over the shaft and having the ends extending through the latter and the hubs and a device for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casing.

7. In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with a casing, an apron, having a cross-bar at its end and engaging devices attached to said bar, of a windingshaft, hubs thereon adapted to receive the engaging devices and provided with recesses adapted to receive the bar, a device for su porting a spool of sensitized material in t e casing and means for'connectin the end of said material to the winding-sha t.

8: In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with acasing, an apron and a winding-shaft connected thereto, of a device for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casing and a rod arranged parallel to the shaft beneath which the end of the material on the spool may be secured and having the ends secured in apertures in said shaft.

9. In a photographic developing-machine,

the combination with a casing, an apron and of a-revoluble a shaft supporting the latter, winding-shaft connected to one end of the apron, detachable connections between the other end of the apron and the supportingshaft whereby the apron may be automatically disconnected from the supporting-shaft when wound upon the Winding-shaft and chine, the combinatlon with a caslng, and a means for supporting a spool of sensitized material in the casing.

10. In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with a casing having separable parts, one comprising an apronholding chamber and the other an apron-receiving chamber, of a winding-shaft in each chamber, and a sup orting device in the easing for holding a roll of sensitized material.

11. In a spool-holder for photographic developing-machines embodylng a casing, the combination with a rod arranged therein and an arm guided on the rod, of a j ournal-pin on the arm adapted to support one end of a spool and a spring-operated bearing adapted to support the op osite end of the spool.

12. In a spoololder for photographic developing-machines embodying a casing, the combination with a rod supportedin the casing in proximity to the side thereof, of an arm guided thereon having a foot engagin the casing and provided with a journa adapted to support one end of a spool, and a relatively movable bearing for the other end of the spool.

13. In a spool-holder for photographic develo ing-machines embodymg a casing, the combination with a rod su ported therein, an'arln guided on the rod, 0 a journal on the arm adapted to support one end of a spool, a journal-pin for the opposite end of the spool guided to move longitudinally in the casing having the end located exteriorly thereof, a friction-head on said pin and a spring for moving the latter inwardly.

14. In a photographic developing-macover portion 006 erating therewith, of shafts j ournaled in the casing'and cover portion, an apron adapted to be unwound from one shaft onto the other and means for su porting a roll of sensitized material in t e casing.

15. In a photographic developing-machine, the combination with a casing forming a developing-chamber, having a recess therein and a cover portion forming an a muholding chamber and cooperating wit the casing to close the develo ing-chamber, of a shaft arranged in each camber, an apron adapted to be unwound from one shaft onto the other and means for supporting a roll of sensitized material in the recess in the developing-chamber.

16. In a photographic developing machine, the combination with a casing, a cover portion hinged thereto, the engaging portions of said casing and cover overlapping, of

shafts journaled in the casing and cover portion, an a jron adapted to be carried on the shaft in t e cover portion and wound onto the shaft in the casing and means for suporting a roll of sensitized material in proxlmity to the shaft in the casing.

ARTHUR WILLIAMS MCGURDY. Witnesses:

A. S. MAoKAY, J E. CAMERON. 

